The biennial Gordon Conference on "Metals in Biology" provides the major forum for the exchange of research results and ideas on the roles of metal ions in biological function, including their role in carcinogenesis and their potential in chemotherapy. The themes of the next Conference (January 1978) will include: 1) the mechanisms of metal activation of oxygen, including the carcinogen-activating oxygenases, 2) metal ions in redox biochemistry, including superoxide dismutase, 3) zinc biochemistry, including DNA polymerase, 4) metal-nucleic acid interactions including the platinum chemotherapeutic agents and the role of metal ions in genetic coding and mis-coding, and 5) new structural probes for biological metal-binding sites.